Reviewed on this page:

Core

Rotring Core (Lysium Blue/Gray model) reviewed by Jim Harris

This pen scared the hell out of me when I took it out of the box. I shuddered and let it hit the desk. Man, what an ugly pen. It looks more like a Klingon laser pointer than a fountain pen. The only thing that
amazed me more about it was why I bought it. It was one of those late night, after a few drinks and the credit card was handy moments. But then I kind of settled down and decided to try it out. I'm a fan of
broads and this was supposedly a broad even though it said XL on the nib. It doesn't really write like a broad. It writes like a Sheaffer medium nib. It sure writes smooth though. For 21 bucks especially. After you settle
into having the oddest-looking pen you have ever seen in your hand, it is actually a pretty cool pen. It has a nice feel and is nicely-weighted as long and you don't put the bulbous, heavy top on it when you write.

I have one complaint. It has a ridge around the bottom near the nib and when you fill the converter ink leaves a ink deposit ring around this ridge that is hard to get out without repeated wipings(I guess that's where the
Ring in Rotring comes in).

Otherwise, if you want to call attention to your writing in coffee shops, buy one of these.
 

Rotring Core reviewed by John

It's hard to imagine the person who pitched the idea of the Rotring Core being successful at convincing the execs at Rotring that this was a god idea. Judging from the look of the pen, the sell must have been something like: "Hey, what we really need is a pen that will wow the teen fountain pen market. I've got the perfect thing - let's take the styling of an athletic shoe, the durability of an SUV, and the writing performance of other Rotrings and package it all together. It can't miss!" Well, somehow the execs were convinced and the Core is the result. The version of the pen that I have features a plastic metallic silver colored body and an enormous rubberized cap. The cap itself is dominated by the clip, which is sort of a bigger version of the Lamy Safari's paper clip theme. The clip succeeds to well at its job of security though. The combination of a rubberized cap, some little "moguls" where the cap goes under the clip, and the strength of the clip make the pen a pain in the neck to put into or take out of a pocket. A hexagon design motif appears in numerous places on the pen, beginning with a hex nut used to secure the clip. In addition to the hexagons, there are enigmatic messages inscribed on the pen such as "Force Resource" and other mysterious symbols. The body of the pen, which is quite fat, slims down with an ergonomically designed section -- again similar to, though less successful than, the Lamy Safari.

The steel nib of the pen is equally whimsical. It is decorated with a bunch of dimples and a hexagon. Sort of like the pen version of a golf ball. The pen does write consistently and reasonably smoothly. While it is not at the same level as the Safari in writing performance, it is surprisingly good given the price. Since owning the pen, I've had no problems with skipping or starting and I've heard no bad things from others.

So what are the drawbacks: The style of the pen is somewhat odd and likely not to many people's tastes. The oversized cap destroys the balance of the pen when posted. It is simply too big and makes the pen too top-heavy. The pen is well-balanced without the cap, but is quite light in the hand when used this way. Inside the pen are a pair of flaps, presumably to help in removing cartridges. If, however, you use the converter (which comes with the pen), you'll want to remove these or, in the course of opening the pen, it may "help" you by ejecting the converter with disastrous results. Finally, the pen has ink level windows cut out of the sides of the body, but the windows are useless with the converter. All it lets you see is the metal screw part of the converter. .

Bottom line: The Core is perhaps a bit more stylish than its closest competitor, the Safari. But it's stylish in an odd way. The pen is, however, a good enough writer and an interesting enough conversation piece to merit its $20 price tag, but it will never be mistaken for a design classic.

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